Fuel injectors are configured to inject a pressurized fuel into cylinders of an engine. The fuel injectors receive the pressurized fuel from a fuel pump through a fuel rail. The fuel pump is mechanically coupled and driven by a gear train present within a gear case associated with the engine. Further, the engine may also include an engine oil pump. The engine oil pump supplies a lubricating oil to the fuel pump and various engine components. The lubricating oil may drain from the fuel pump into the gear case.
In some situations, when the fuel pump fails, debris from the failed fuel pump may mix with the lubricating oil. This contaminated oil containing the debris may flow towards and enter into the gear train and/or other components of the engine positioned downstream of the fuel pump. Further, this may lead to failure of the respective gear train and/or the engine components. The failure of these engine components may increase a cost and downtime associated with an operation of the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,699,738 discloses an oil pump structure of an automatic transmission. In the oil pump structure of an automatic transmission using a torque converter, a hydraulic pressure chamber is defined by pump housing and a pump cover, to rotatably accommodate therein inner and outer rotors. First and second inflow ports respectively communicating with an oil strainer and a control valve are formed in the outside surface of the pump cover separately from each other. First and second oil inflow passages communicating with the respective inflow ports, a merged-flow portion that downstream portions of the first and second oil inflow passages are merged with each other, a downstream-side oil distribution channel intercommunicating a downstream side of the merged-flow portion and the hydraulic pressure chamber, are formed in at least one of the pump housing and the pump cover.